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Why the Terrorists Attack the United States

miksirhc

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The terrorists attack the United States because of our intervention in their foreign affairs. In Osama Bin Laden's Fatawa, or his declaration of war against America, he cited 3 main reasons for his lifelong quest:
1. US Occupation of Muslim Holy Land
2. The innocents killed in the Gulf War and sanctions on Iraq.
3. American support of Israel.
From this, it stands to reason that terrorists attack us not because we are free and prosperous, but because were are interfering with their affairs. This position is supported by many sources including the 9/11 Commission report, also by Michael Schauer, head of the CIA department in charge of hunting Bin Laden.
It is time to withdraw completely from the middle east and to become friends and trade with other nations freely. This will end the creation of new terrorists: with the US not being present in the Middle East, Bin Laden and other recruiters will have no impetus to use the wonderful religion if Islam to turn people against us. Our War in Iraq has made the situation so much worse, but there is still time to fix this.
Remember what Jefferson said: "Peace, commerce and honest friendship with all nations; entangling alliances with none."
 
From this, it stands to reason that terrorists attack us not because we are free and prosperous, but because were are interfering with their affairs.
Only if you buy their silly excuses. Do you really think that crowd is honest about their motives?
 
They attack us because they hate freedom.
 
Only if you buy their silly excuses. Do you really think that crowd is honest about their motives?
Do you really think that if we weren't monkeying around w/ the ME folks from the ME would be all that upset w/ us?

There're many countries that are arguably as free as we are and many that are decidedly more irreligious. However, the folks who installed multiple regimes in the ME and who overthrew multiple regimes in teh ME are the target.

It should also be noted that the interference / participation in ME affairs is what is used as a recruiting pitch. So whatever youchoose to believe about the motives of the various "masterminds" the meme resonates with the rank and file.

(I may be reading to much into your comment here, but) You seem to be caught up more with the idea of whether or not we "deserve it" rather than what they're thinking.
 
The argument that they attack us because we are 'Free' is proposterous. What would we do if another country came in and started putting bases in mexico and canada? We would fight back. So do they.

Switzerland and Austria are just as 'free' as us, even freer in some respects. Yet they are not the target of terrorist attacks because they stay involved with their own affairs.

They may not be honest about their motives, but they are very small, fringe movement. However, our actions have given them the EXCUSE to and the IMPETUS for people to join their ranks. Terrorism does not exist in a vacuum. Creating a vacuum is the only way to end it. Leave the Middle East Now.
 
Simon W. Moon said:
Do you really think that if we weren't monkeying around w/ the ME folks from the ME would be all that upset w/ us?

There're many countries that are arguably as free as we are and many that are decidedly more irreligious. However, the folks who installed multiple regimes in the ME and who overthrew multiple regimes in teh ME are the target.

Excellent response. But it does suggest the further question of, why do we "monkey around" with the ME? I'm reminded of Lord Palmerston's (in)famous quip that, "“Nations have no permanent friends or allies, they only have permanent interests.”

Presumably, our interests in the ME include first and foremost, access to strategic resources (oil and gas) and at one time, countering Soviet expansionism (as we competed with them for "clients" in the ME), and perhaps others.

So, in the interest of furthering the debate/discussion, over the longer run, do you think our "interests" in the ME have been well-served by our monkeying around, or has it thus far been counterproductive?
 
Some people just dont get some people arent using logic.The fact that people actually think solving the isreal palastine problem will solve everything just shows they dont get it.
 
Excellent response. But it does suggest the further question of, why do we "monkey around" with the ME?

So, in the interest of furthering the debate/discussion, over the longer run, do you think our "interests" in the ME have been well-served by our monkeying around, or has it thus far been counterproductive?
The ME has been the hot spot for so long because (as every Risk Player knows) it sits inbetween three continents. Anytime someone needed to expand (xpt for our far eastern and our as of yet unmet New world brethren) they had to go through there.

I'm certainly not in the mood to second guess a theme that recurs throughout history. I'm not up to looking into the Byzantine(!) annals of the many empires and world powers who have seen fit to stick their finger in that pie.

Whether these ventures have served our relatively young interests or not is most likely a mixed bag that's debatable ad infinitum depending on the givens of the conversation. I have no doubt that some have been good choices and others poor with a mix from the full spectrum in between.

However, in the more narrow focus of this conversation, I bring this up to point out that the perspective of folks residing in that part of the world wrt our participation in ME affairs is bound to emphasize the impacts of our involvement more than ours does.





More recently the importance of petro-products has maintained the strategic importance of the region even though the logistical importance of the area has been diminished by the advances in transportation.

IMVHO, the US should make it a priority to divest our strategic interests from the area. I think we should look to be an energy exporter in this coming century. Of course, this means finding new means of acquiring energy. Daunting task for sure; however, we invented Yankee know-how.

Other than the strategic resource in the area, we don't really have that much interest in the area. True some of our allies do due to their proximity, but for the US the petro is the big interest. If that we're no longer true, we could reallocate a great deal of resources.
 
The terrorists attack the United States because of our intervention in their foreign affairs. In Osama Bin Laden's Fatawa, or his declaration of war against America, he cited 3 main reasons for his lifelong quest:
1. US Occupation of Muslim Holy Land
2. The innocents killed in the Gulf War and sanctions on Iraq.
3. American support of Israel.
From this, it stands to reason that terrorists attack us not because we are free and prosperous, but because were are interfering with their affairs. This position is supported by many sources including the 9/11 Commission report, also by Michael Schauer, head of the CIA department in charge of hunting Bin Laden.
It is time to withdraw completely from the middle east and to become friends and trade with other nations freely. This will end the creation of new terrorists: with the US not being present in the Middle East, Bin Laden and other recruiters will have no impetus to use the wonderful religion if Islam to turn people against us. Our War in Iraq has made the situation so much worse, but there is still time to fix this.
Remember what Jefferson said: "Peace, commerce and honest friendship with all nations; entangling alliances with none."

Why did they attack Algeria recently or in the 1990's?
 
Do you really think that if we weren't monkeying around w/ the ME folks from the ME would be all that upset w/ us?
Sure. They have to blame somebody for their sorry condition, and they certainly aren't going to take any responsibility for themselves.

The Middle East was prosperous as long as they sat astride the trade routes between east and west. When the Europeans discovered deep-water navigation the M.E. lost their middleman status and, unable to find anything useful to produce, they rotted in their backwater for centuries with nothing to do but molest goats and camels. In the late thirties, the westerners discovered oil; now the sheiks are so rich they have a hard time spending all their money and the people still live in poverty and spin these fantasies that simple minded people all over the world believe: if we would just leave them alone, they would leave us alone.

Wotta load of crap! The truth is they will leave us alone when their own citizens are cut off from the truth about how good life can be when their own sewer of a society is consigned to the ash heap of history.
 
Sure. They have to blame somebody for their sorry condition, and they certainly aren't going to take any responsibility for themselves.
Out of mere curiosity, in you way of seeing things, why did the pick the Us instead of one of the many other countries?
 
Whats wrong with these terrorist apologists.You really think there is any reasoning with the likes of bin laden?

Why do you people act like the propaganda wing for jihadists?
 
Whats wrong with these terrorist apologists.You really think there is any reasoning with the likes of bin laden?

Why do you people act like the propaganda wing for jihadists?
I can't tell if you're trying to be funny or if you are genuinely confused.

But, if you are being sincere, it seems you conflating the reasons that folks find the recuiting pitch of violent Islamists appealing with a discussion of whether or not "we" "deserve it."

The two are quite separate issues. An exploration of what motivates folks to decide that aQ et al have some points is different than a discussion of what the US and "the West" deserve or whether ornot the actions of aQ and friends are justified.

There's no apologizing, rationalizing or justifying going on - just a discussion of what motivates some of these folks.
 
Switzerland and Austria are just as 'free' as us, even freer in some respects. Yet they are not the target of terrorist attacks because they stay involved with their own affairs.
You make it sound as if the US is the only target. Many countries around the world have been attacked including Austria. Even Canada was targeted.
 
I can't tell if you're trying to be funny or if you are genuinely confused.

But, if you are being sincere, it seems you conflating the reasons that folks find the recuiting pitch of violent Islamists appealing with a discussion of whether or not "we" "deserve it."

The two are quite separate issues. An exploration of what motivates folks to decide that aQ et al have some points is different than a discussion of what the US and "the West" deserve or whether ornot the actions of aQ and friends are justified.

There's no apologizing, rationalizing or justifying going on - just a discussion of what motivates some of these folks.

People are trying to rationalize acts that are irrational Islamic fundamentalism comes from by definition a fundamentalist belief in the koran.The methods and justification come from the koran also.No doubt we have also annoyed them in other ways but if you where to look for example the attitudes against the Iraq war and the attitudes over the mohammed cartoons which where the strongest?

There are many countries with far more legitimate beefs with America.I know its a slogan but there is a hate America first crowd who dont know what an enemy is.
 
People are trying to rationalize acts that are irrational Islamic fundamentalism comes from by definition a fundamentalist belief in the koran.The methods and justification come from the koran also.
We're all irrational animals. However, that doesn't stop us from making rational decisions [even though they are sometimes based on irrational premises].

To ignore, gloss over or otherwise off-handedly dismiss the relatively effective sales pitch of the violent Islamists is to do a grave disservice to ourselves. To no small degree our successes in the this struggle do and will continue to depend on the cooperation of folks in the "Muslim World". Getting this help and denying the Islamists their help from this same source is essential. If we refuse to see what sells (for whatever reason) then we're shooting ourselves in the foot.


No doubt we have also annoyed them in other ways but if you where to look for example the attitudes against the Iraq war and the attitudes over the mohammed cartoons which where the strongest?
I think you are referring to merely your impressions of the reactions rather than the actual reactions. Confirmation bias is a difficult thing for us humans to see past.

There are many countries with far more legitimate beefs with America.
This is a very odd comment as the violent Islamists are not countries. Just sayin zall

Also, as I noted previously, your determination as to who has the more "legitimate beef" with the US is largely irrelevant. We're not really discussing your opinion about who should be hating on the US et al. What's at issue here is the rationale of the folks who either are violent Islamist jihadis or are their sympathizers.
 
This doesn't seem too difficult.

If America was capable of complete and total removal of all military, political, economic, and emotional prescence from foreign lands we would be at least a quadrillion times safer than we are now.

I am a believer in self-reliance being the saving grace of America. We need to shut down and close all foreign military bases and bring every single military person back home. Shore up our own borders and let the rest of the world fend for, and defend themselves.

We are now in an age when we can reach out and touch any square inch of the planet in a matter of hours. There's no need to intesify foreign unrest by building and/or maintaining bases in other countries.

Bring them all home. Defend our country and let the others defend theirs.

I find everything the original post states to be accurate. IMHO.
 
Couple of questions.


1. THese terrorist make up a statistically small number of all of Muslims lands. Meaning they are the minority no? THey are not state sponsored as a military and therefore have no standing.


Let's pretend the same old rhetoric of the OP is completley true.


2. We are out of Saudi Arabia?

3. Where do you want to put all those Jews?





And if they don't hate us for our freedoms what did Bin Laden mean by his "letter to America" in this part:


hajibinladen said:
Q2) As for the second question that we want to answer: What are we calling you to, and what do we want from you?

(1) The first thing that we are calling you to is Islam.

(a) The religion of the Unification of God; of freedom from associating partners with Him, and rejection of this; of complete love of Him, the Exalted; of complete submission to His Laws; and of the discarding of all the opinions, orders, theories and religions which contradict with the religion He sent down to His Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Islam is the religion of all the prophets, and makes no distinction between them - peace be upon them all.

It is to this religion that we call you; the seal of all the previous religions. It is the religion of Unification of God, sincerity, the best of manners, righteousness, mercy, honour, purity, and piety. It is the religion of showing kindness to others, establishing justice between them, granting them their rights, and defending the oppressed and the persecuted. It is the religion of enjoining the good and forbidding the evil with the hand, tongue and heart. It is the religion of Jihad in the way of Allah so that Allah's Word and religion reign Supreme. And it is the religion of unity and agreement on the obedience to Allah, and total equality between all people, without regarding their colour, sex, or language.

(b) It is the religion whose book - the Quran - will remained preserved and unchanged, after the other Divine books and messages have been changed. The Quran is the miracle until the Day of Judgment. Allah has challenged anyone to bring a book like the Quran or even ten verses like it.

(2) The second thing we call you to, is to stop your oppression, lies, immorality and debauchery that has spread among you.

(a) We call you to be a people of manners, principles, honour, and purity; to reject the immoral acts of fornication, homosexuality, intoxicants, gambling's, and trading with interest.

We call you to all of this that you may be freed from that which you have become caught up in; that you may be freed from the deceptive lies that you are a great nation, that your leaders spread amongst you to conceal from you the despicable state to which you have reached.

(b) It is saddening to tell you that you are the worst civilization witnessed by the history of mankind:

(i) You are the nation who, rather than ruling by the Shariah of Allah in its Constitution and Laws, choose to invent your own laws as you will and desire. You separate religion from your policies, contradicting the pure nature which affirms Absolute Authority to the Lord and your Creator. You flee from the embarrassing question posed to you: How is it possible for Allah the Almighty to create His creation, grant them power over all the creatures and land, grant them all the amenities of life, and then deny them that which they are most in need of: knowledge of the laws which govern their lives?

(ii) You are the nation that permits Usury, which has been forbidden by all the religions. Yet you build your economy and investments on Usury. As a result of this, in all its different forms and guises, the Jews have taken control of your economy, through which they have then taken control of your media, and now control all aspects of your life making you their servants and achieving their aims at your expense; precisely what Benjamin Franklin warned you against.

(iii) You are a nation that permits the production, trading and usage of intoxicants. You also permit drugs, and only forbid the trade of them, even though your nation is the largest consumer of them.

(iv) You are a nation that permits acts of immorality, and you consider them to be pillars of personal freedom. You have continued to sink down this abyss from level to level until incest has spread amongst you, in the face of which neither your sense of honour nor your laws object.

Who can forget your President Clinton's immoral acts committed in the official Oval office? After that you did not even bring him to account, other than that he 'made a mistake', after which everything passed with no punishment. Is there a worse kind of event for which your name will go down in history and remembered by nations?

(v) You are a nation that permits gambling in its all forms. The companies practice this as well, resulting in the investments becoming active and the criminals becoming rich.

(vi) You are a nation that exploits women like consumer products or advertising tools calling upon customers to purchase them. You use women to serve passengers, visitors, and strangers to increase your profit margins. You then rant that you support the liberation of women.

(vii) You are a nation that practices the trade of sex in all its forms, directly and indirectly. Giant corporations and establishments are established on this, under the name of art, entertainment, tourism and freedom, and other deceptive names you attribute to it.

(viii) And because of all this, you have been described in history as a nation that spreads diseases that were unknown to man in the past. Go ahead and boast to the nations of man, that you brought them AIDS as a Satanic American Invention.

(xi) You have destroyed nature with your industrial waste and gases more than any other nation in history. Despite this, you refuse to sign the Kyoto agreement so that you can secure the profit of your greedy companies and*industries.

(x) Your law is the law of the rich and wealthy people, who hold sway in their political parties, and fund their election campaigns with their gifts. Behind them stand the Jews, who control your policies, media and economy.

(xi) That which you are singled out for in the history of mankind, is that you have used your force to destroy mankind more than any other nation in history; not to defend principles and values, but to hasten to secure your interests and profits. You who dropped a nuclear bomb on Japan, even though Japan was ready to negotiate an end to the war. How many acts of oppression, tyranny and injustice have you carried out, O callers to freedom?

(xii) Let us not forget one of your major characteristics: your duality in both manners and values; your hypocrisy in manners and principles. All*manners, principles and values have two scales: one for you and one for the others.

(a)The freedom and democracy that you call to is for yourselves and for white race only; as for the rest of the world, you impose upon them your monstrous, destructive policies and Governments, which you call the 'American friends'. Yet you prevent them from establishing democracies. When the Islamic party in Algeria wanted to practice democracy and they won the election, you unleashed your agents in the Algerian army onto them, and to attack them with tanks and guns, to imprison them and torture them - a new lesson from the 'American book of democracy'!!!

(b)Your policy on prohibiting and forcibly removing weapons of mass destruction to ensure world peace: it only applies to those countries which you do not permit to possess such weapons. As for the countries you consent to, such as Israel, then they are allowed to keep and use such weapons to defend their security. Anyone else who you suspect might be manufacturing or keeping these kinds of weapons, you call them criminals and you take military action against them.

(c)You are the last ones to respect the resolutions and policies of International Law, yet you claim to want to selectively punish anyone else who does the same. Israel has for more than 50 years been pushing UN resolutions and rules against the wall with the full support of America.

(d)As for the war criminals which you censure and form criminal courts for - you shamelessly ask that your own are granted immunity!! However, history will not forget the war crimes that you committed against the Muslims and the rest of the world; those you have killed in Japan, Afghanistan, Somalia, Lebanon and Iraq will remain a shame that you will never be able to escape. It will suffice to remind you of your latest war crimes in Afghanistan, in which densely populated innocent civilian villages were destroyed, bombs were dropped on mosques causing the roof of the mosque to come crashing down on the heads of the Muslims praying inside. You are the ones who broke the agreement with the Mujahideen when they left Qunduz, bombing them in Jangi fort, and killing more than 1,000 of your prisoners through suffocation and thirst. Allah alone knows how many people have died by torture at the hands of you and your agents. Your planes remain in the Afghan skies, looking for anyone remotely suspicious.

(e)You have claimed to be the vanguards of Human Rights, and your Ministry of Foreign affairs issues annual reports containing statistics of those countries that violate any Human Rights. However, all these things vanished when the Mujahideen hit you, and you then implemented the methods of the same documented governments that you used to curse. In America, you captured thousands the Muslims and Arabs, took them into custody with neither reason, court trial, nor even disclosing their names. You issued newer, harsher laws.

What happens in Guatanamo is a historical embarrassment to America and its values, and it screams into your faces - you hypocrites, "What is the value of your signature on any agreement or treaty?"

(3) What we call you to thirdly is to take an honest stance with yourselves - and I doubt you will do so - to discover that you are a nation without principles or manners, and that the values and principles to you are something which you merely demand from others, not that which you yourself must adhere to.

(4) We also advise you to stop supporting Israel, and to end your support of the Indians in Kashmir, the Russians against the Chechens and to also cease supporting the Manila Government against the Muslims in Southern Philippines.

(5) We also advise you to pack your luggage and get out of our lands. We desire for your goodness, guidance, and righteousness, so do not force us to send you back as cargo in coffins.

(6) Sixthly, we call upon you to end your support of the corrupt leaders in our countries. Do not interfere in our politics and method of education. Leave us alone, or else expect us in New York and Washington.


Continued..............
 
obamabinhaji[/quote said:
(7) We also call you to deal with us and interact with us on the basis of mutual interests and benefits, rather than the policies of sub dual, theft and occupation, and not to continue your policy of supporting the Jews because this will result in more disasters for you.

If you fail to respond to all these conditions, then prepare for fight with the Islamic Nation. The Nation of Monotheism, that puts complete trust on Allah and fears none other than Him. The Nation which is addressed by its Quran with the words: "Do you fear them? Allah has more right that you should fear Him if you are believers. Fight against them so that Allah will punish them by your hands and disgrace them and give you victory over them and heal the breasts of believing people. And remove the anger of their (believers') hearts. Allah accepts the repentance of whom He wills. Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise." [Quran9:13-1]

The Nation of honour and respect:

"But honour, power and glory belong to Allah, and to His Messenger (Muhammad- peace be upon him) and to the believers." [Quran 63:8]

"So do not become weak (against your enemy), nor be sad, and you will be*superior ( in victory )if you are indeed (true) believers" [Quran 3:139]

The Nation of Martyrdom; the Nation that desires death more than you desire life:

"Think not of those who are killed in the way of Allah as dead. Nay, they are alive with their Lord, and they are being provided for. They rejoice in what Allah has bestowed upon them from His bounty and rejoice for the sake of those who have not yet joined them, but are left behind (not yet martyred) that on them no fear shall come, nor shall they grieve. They rejoice in a grace and a bounty from Allah, and that Allah will not waste the reward of the believers." [Quran 3:169-171]

The Nation of victory and success that Allah has promised:

"It is He Who has sent His Messenger (Muhammad peace be upon him) with guidance and the religion of truth (Islam), to make it victorious over all other religions even though the Polytheists hate it." [Quran 61:9]

"Allah has decreed that 'Verily it is I and My Messengers who shall be victorious.' Verily Allah is All-Powerful, All-Mighty." [Quran 58:21]

The Islamic Nation that was able to dismiss and destroy the previous evil Empires like yourself; the Nation that rejects your attacks, wishes to remove your evils, and is prepared to fight you. You are well aware that the Islamic Nation, from the very core of its soul, despises your haughtiness and arrogance.

If the Americans refuse to listen to our advice and the goodness, guidance and righteousness that we call them to, then be aware that you will lose this Crusade Bush began, just like the other previous Crusades in which you were humiliated by the hands of the Mujahideen, fleeing to your home in great silence and disgrace. If the Americans do not respond, then their fate will be that of the Soviets who fled from Afghanistan to deal with their military defeat, political breakup, ideological downfall, and economic bankruptcy.

This is our message to the Americans, as an answer to theirs. Do they now know why we fight them and over which form of ignorance, by the permission of Allah, we shall be victorious?




Oh and to the op's point #2, those were UN sanctions that made the UN, people, and Hussein rich. http://acepilots.com/unscam
 
Out of mere curiosity, in you way of seeing things, why did the pick the Us instead of one of the many other countries?
Soft target, lots of publicity. And a lot of fools to believe their propaganda excuses and psychobabble.
 
Soft target, lots of publicity. And a lot of fools to believe their propaganda excuses and psychobabble.
The US is the softest target around?

Call their rationale by whatever names suits you, but the fact remains that these folks believe their reasons and that's enough to get them to act on them. Whether or not their reasons are valid or no, they are the reasons that they have.

You can deal with that or not.
 
The US is the softest target around?
In 2001, for that kind of attack, yes.

Call their rationale by whatever names suits you, but the fact remains that these folks believe their reasons and that's enough to get them to act on them. Whether or not their reasons are valid or no, they are the reasons that they have.
Agreed. They do believe their reasons, and thereby resign from the human race.

You can deal with that or not.
Agreed again. They are mad dogs, and must be exterminated as quickly as possible.
 
Out of mere curiosity, in you way of seeing things, why did the pick the Us instead of one of the many other countries?



Here's the answer from Walid Phares' book, Future Jihad: Terrorist Strategies Against America this is a pretty darned good 6 Part review and synopsis of the book.

Why Attack America Directly

Put simply, bin Laden decided to attack America because his reading of the 1990s showed that we were a paper tiger. Time and again he or other jihadist terrorist organizations attacked Americans and got away with it.

The list of attacks by jihadist groups on America in the 80s and 90s that we did not respond to is long: Beirut(1983 Marine Corps barracks), Algeria, Somalia, the 1993 World Trade Center attack, Khobar Towers, Chechnya, Bosnia (we allowed a jihadist brigade to form up and fight "alongside" us), ignoring the Taliban, the 1998 US embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania, and the USS Cole.

Worse, on Feb 22, 1998 Osama bin Laden issued a formal declaration of war against the United States. He had all his t's crossed and i's dotted; the text met all of the legal requirements as established by centuries of Islamic law. Yet the United States completely ignored it. Bin Laden was stunned.

His assumption was that it was a sign from Allah that America was ripe for the picking.

What Osama bin Laden Thought Would Happen after September 11

Osama bin Laden thought that three things would happen after the attacks

Popular Chaos: Bin Laden thought that Americans would rise up by the millions against the government. He thought that congress and the president would be paralyzed and that the economy would collapse.

Backlash on Arabs and Muslims
: Bin Laden expected us to do what he would do if the situation was reversed; slaughter anyone remotely associated with the enemy. Let us not think that by "backlash" bin Laden was expecting what we would call "discrimination" or even name-calling; he was expecting pogroms of the sort that used to happen against Jews in Czarist Russia. He thought there would be armed strife whereby fascist militia groups would murder Muslims by the hundreds or even thousands.

American Wrath Overseas
: Just as bin Laden would have slaughtered his enemies at home, he would have done likewise with a foreign enemy that dared to attack him. He was thus expecting us to lash out at all Muslims and Arabs overseas, perhaps even using nuclear weapons in a mass slaughter.

The net result, he thought, would be that the United States would be in disarray and Arab Sunni Muslims would rally around him and annoint him the new caliph.

What Might Have Happened

It is easy to smile at what bin Laden thought would happen, for in fact he was wrong on all counts. But what if he had waited 5 - 10 years? What if he had waited until he was able to infiltrate hundreds into this country instead of barely more than a dozen?

Instead of 19 hijackers on 4 airplanes, imagine 50 - 60 on a dozen or more.

Imagine also that the terrorists are not only boarding airplanes, but that al Qaeda has infiltrated people into the FAA, where they now work as air traffic controllers. Others are mechanics at working at airlines. On the appointed day they all work in unison. The air traffic controllers issue bogus commands, and the mechanics sabatoge aircraft.

Truck bombers attack attack police stations and government offices, not just in Washington DC or New York, but around the country.

U.S. Military bases experience terrorist attacks carried out by soldiers and sailors working for al Qaeda. Aircraft are destroyed and ships crippled. Others in intelligence or communications units work to sow confusion.

Still terrorists act as snipers in cities, perched atop buildings or holed up in strategically located apartments, shooting at random those below.

How would Americans have acted then? The answer is that we don't know, but it might get ugly very quickly.

Phares lays out just such a scenario in Future Jihad. Now, I think the chances of such a plot going undetected are pretty slim, even in a pre-9/11 mentality. Yet even so, it is not clear that if we had caught some terrorists we could have prevented the entire operation. It is something to think about, certainly.

Up Next:

Guidelines and prescriptive policies.

Previous

In Part 1 I introduced Walid Phares' book Future Jihad and explained the logic of jihad.
In Part 2 I mapped out the three branches of the jihad as identified by Phares.
In Part 3 we discussed methods of the jihad as told by Phares.
In Part 4 we covered how the Saudi Wahabists Undermine the West
Part 5 was about the success the Muslim Brotherhood has had in penetrating the government of Egypt, and it's success in establishing an Islamist government in Sudan

The Redhunter: Jihadism and the War of Ideas Archives

I invite everyone to click on this link and read the review.
 
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